Sunak urged to consider fourday working week
MPs and campaigners are urging the chancellor to consider a four-day working week as a way to overhaul the economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a letter to Rishi Sunak, seen by The Independent, the signatories, including former shadow chancellor John McDonnell and Green MP Caroline Lucas, argue reducing working hours provide greater opportunities amid growing levels of unemployment.
The calls come after Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s prime minister, suggested employers could consider a four-day working week in response to the Covid-19 crisis, which she said would “certainly” boost the
tourism industry.
The concept of a four-day working week picked up momentum in the UK during the 2019 December election, as Labour floated a policy of a 32-hour working week with no loss of pay to be delivered within 10 years.
But campaigners now believe with the country facing an economic crisis in the wake of the pandemic, “shorter working time presents itself as one of the best options for fundamentally restructuring the economy so that work is shared more equally”.
In their letter to the Treasury, they said: “A four-day week would give many more opportunities to the growing list of unemployed people which already stands at 2.8 million people.”
“Shorter working time has been used throughout history as a way of responding to economic crises. They were used as a way of reducing unemployment during the Great Depression of the 1930s, which led to the normalisation of the eight-hour day and the 40-hour week.”
The signatories, which also include trade unions, academics, and the former Labour Party chairman Ian Lavery, added: “A four-day week would bring multiple benefits to society, the environment, our democracy, and our economy (through increased productivity).
“One of the biggest impacts would be better mental health and wellbeing across the board with more time available for socialising, family and community.”
“Three-quarters of UK workers already supported a four-day working week before the coronavirus pandemic hit and millions of workers have now had a taste of working remotely and on different hours. It’s in no one’s interests to return back to the pressure and stress that people were under before this pandemic.”
The letter also cites the recent comments from the Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, who last month said proposals such as a four-day working week “are no longer things that we should just be talking about”.
“These are things we should be encouraging employers to look at embracing,” she said. “And there are a whole range of things that fall into that category.”
The letter to Mr Sunak concludes: “We’re urging your government to show the same commitment towards a better future for the UK by setting up a similar commission – looking at the range of options and models related to shorter working time which the UK could deploy.”